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The establishment will be emboldened to play in more upcoming primaries.

Coming at the start of a string of primaries, the victory will only intensify Republicans’ confidence that they can win the six seats necessary to seize the majority.

Outside groups spent more than $10 million boosting Tillis and bloodying Hagan through the primary. American Crossroads alone spent $1.6 million backing him over the final month, the first big test of its promises to stop the party from nominating more Todd Akins. Crossroads even seeded money to other outside groups, like Grow NC Strong, to run radio ads promoting Tillis’ conservative stands on social issues.

If Tillis had been forced into a July 15 runoff, he almost certainly would have won the nomination. But there would have been hand-wringing in Washington about whether groups like Crossroads and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should have done more — or less. Tea party forces might have felt inspired to pour money into the state, and there would have been days of stories about the GOP’s continuing primary problem.

Instead, there was not just jubilation but chatter about where the big outside groups can play next.

The Chamber is already spending in Mississippi to help Sen. Thad Cochran win his primary. He’s currently the only GOP Senate incumbent who looks like he might lose this cycle. Just today, it also booked fresh time in Idaho to help Rep. Mike Simpson beat his primary challenger. And there’s talk the the business lobby could spend more to help Rep. Jack Kingston win the crowded Georgia Senate primary.

Tillis was by far the most viable candidate in a general, so Democrats invested big to try and bring him down and force him into a runoff. Senate Majority PAC spent $2.4 million blasting Tillis — including a spate of negative ads over ethics in the closing weeks — and $1.4 million boosting Hagan through the primary.

“We engaged early and worked closely with other center-right groups to help Tillis overcome a late dirty-tricks campaign orchestrated by Hagan and national Democrats,” American Crossroads President and CEO Steven Law said in a statement. “It was clear from the start that Thom Tillis is the only proven conservative who can defeat Kay Hagan and take on President Obama’s liberal agenda.”

The electability pitch works.

The North Carolina results are a strong indication that the GOP rank and file is undergoing a shift from prioritizing purity to prizing victory. Just like D.C. strategists, voters watched Akin and Richard Mourdock blow it in 2012 and didn’t want a repeat this year.

Tillis had the backing of blue-chip surrogates like Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, and he rounded up endorsements from the National Rifle Association and the National Right to Life. The candidate and groups supporting him argued repeatedly that he was the one candidate who could beat Hagan.

“They fear Tillis the most,” says a poster in his Charlotte-area campaign office, with pictures of President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Hagan.

Tillis won with less than a majority, so some caution is warranted in interpreting the returns. We also don’t have exit polls to give us a breakdown of who voted for Tillis and why.

But reports from the ground suggest that the electability argument resonated.